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Why I Deleted All of My Blogs

Posted By Guest Blogger 4th of April 2011 Miscellaneous Blog Tips 0 Comments

This guest posst is by Kole McRae of Chilled Soda.

Four months ago, I had 15 blogs. I had blogs about net neutrality, writing tips, technology news, and more. They we’re all things I was passionate about and loved writing them but one day I deleted them all.

All but one.

I didn’t back them up. I didn’t think twice about it. I simply clicked Delete and never thought about them again. Each one had an audience. Some of them even brought in a little money. But none of that mattered.

That day I discovered a simple truth about myself—a truth that expands to absolutely everyone. The idea was simple, which is kind of the beauty of it.

The less you spread yourself, the better your work

Though I worked hard on those blogs, I knew that the quality of the posts wasn’t high. I tried my best but I just didn’t have the time to do the in-depth work I wanted to. At first I blamed it on my day job and other priorities, but over time I realized it was the sheer number of projects that was holding me back.

With each new project or blog I started, I spread my resources a little bit further. I had less time to devote to each one, and because of that the quality suffered.

The day I made that realization, I deleted them all and focused on a single blog. I was finally able to devote the time required to do the detailed, high-quality posts I’d always wanted to.

Because of this I was able to get that blog mentioned on Consumerist.com, Time Magazine’s website, Howstuffworks.com, and many other A-list websites. All it took was dedication to a single cause instead of many.

Take a look at your current list of projects. Are you able to devote the amount of time necessary to make each one a raging success? If not, why are you working on them?

One at a time

You’re probably looking at this article with an expression of shock. I can hear the objections now:

“You mean, you want me to kill my babies? But all my ideas!”

I’m not asking you to delete everything and never work on those ideas again. As naturally creative people, we want to create. Here is what you should do instead: work on each project, one at a time. Put all your focus on the first one, then, once that’s complete, move on to the next.

It’s up to you to decide what “complete” means.

Not only will this approach ensure that the quality of each project is incredibly high, but you’ll also get a lot more done.

In small doses

You don’t have to do it all at once, like I did. I know that deleting something you’ve worked hard on can be incredibly daunting task. It can even be depressing at first.

Instead, cut out one project at a time.

You’ll find that with the removal of each project, all the others become better in terms of quality. The more you delete, the more you’ll want to delete as you see how much better your other projects get. It’s like an endless loop of quality.

In the end it just proves the point: “Less is more.”

Have you got multiple projects running at the moment? How do you juggle them? Are you giving every single one your best?

Kole McRae started Chilled Soda, a resource for those working 9-5 jobs that want to reduce stress, get more done, find more time for the things they
love, and all around become happier.

About Guest Blogger
This post was written by a guest contributor. Please see their details in the post above.
Comments
  1. I totally agree with the post. It happened to me 4 years back when all the great ideas popup at the same time. I only got two hand but i need so many hand to work on. To cut short, i achieve non. Yes, because i got lack of focus. All i do in half done and it was miserable. So from this year (2011), I want to focus a project at a time and going to another after i satisfied with the current project. Anyway…tq for the post =)

  2. So you realized that 15 passion sites was too much for one person only after you’d set the sites up.

    You obviously have zero respect for your readers insomuch as you didn’t either announce closure or archive the pages.

    It should always be about the reader. That is the lesson not to lose site of.

  3. I have been thinking along those lines for quite a while now, but I don’t think I would be able to delete them. I have put so much work into all my blogs, I would rather just leave them be and concentrate on just a few.

  4. It is very difficult keeping up with all your blogs especially if you are into Niche blogging, but I personally enjoy the challenge. I wouldn’t delete any of my blogs.

  5. I think you should hand over those blogs to other who want to write in blog. It was a better option than delete those blog…. sorry but…..Bad Idea..!

  6. Agreed. You should concentrate on one blog and you will earn way more then having multiple of blogs.

  7. I actually did the same thing. I used to own a lot of blogs and websites and it just became too much and I noticed the quality of each one kept decreasing. Deleting blogs or at least putting them aside so you can concentrate on 1 or 3 great ones is the right thing to do. You content quality will be better and you can become more successful.

  8. Good post. I think we often need to experiment with various niches to discover the one that we really love and want to build a community around. Blogging isn’t simple.

    You need to find or develop a personality for your blog that attracts the right kind of audience that wants to stick around. At least this is what I’ve noticed about myself as a blog reader; if your blog has an attractive personality, I feel compelled to follow. Make your readers fall in love with your blog.

    And even if you have to create 15 different blogs to find the one that you genuinely want to keep refining and building then you’re not wasting a minute of your time. The 15 blogs are what you have to persist through in order to discover the gem. People that can achieve the same on their first try are just super lucky.

  9. I like this post. I always think before to create about 5 different blogs of mine but I always stuck on realizing how could I manage it all. So, I stick working great on my single blog about technology.Although, I don’t earn that much but I am happy the it starts gaining readers.

  10. I agree with you! It’s like you’ve been reading my mind!

    I don’t have to kill my babies, just because I’ve planned my next steps as you explained in this beautifull article; I wanted to start slowly, with the right lunch plan, and then moving bigger and bigger earning knowledge to keep up the good work!

    With this article you let me feel more comfortable with my decisions, thanks!

  11. I love my blogs and it would break my heart to delete them. I know I have too many to keep up with, maybe I will just concentrate on a few.

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